Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and the economic boom experienced in the 17th century

Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and the economic boom experienced in the 17^th century

Introduction

In the past, many events were interrelated, and this is mainly because societies were all going through changes. In Western Europe, there had been different social constructs that had been put in place, and these affected the way people lived. But as time went by, people began to take charge of themselves and wanted to explore rather than merely follow the rules. In many ways, the events that happened in these Western European countries significantly shaped the way society thinks eve today and is thus very important to understand them. Certain changed began taking place in different European countries, but they were all interrelated. In history, many events lead to the occurrence of others, and that is the main reason for this paper. In this paper, I look at three of the most significant changes that took place from the 16^th and 17^th centuries and the way they impacted society. These three are the Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and the economic boom experienced in the 17^th century; to understand their interrelatedness.

Protestant Reformation

Western Europe had for the longest time known allegiance to only one church, and that was the Roman Catholic church that was based in Rome. The church was the only religious construct mandated to teach and preach about God, and naturally, they became mighty. They taught in Italian, and it was mandatory that other countries also learnt Italian to understand. But this was challenged by Martin Luther, a German priest who felt that the Catholic church was taking great advantage of the position it had. He saw the church as not a divine messenger of God to the people but as a political construct that only wanted to gain power and control people. He criticized their various excesses and especially the luxurious ways that they lived. [1]This motivated him to translate the Bible into German from the traditional Italian and encourage people to read and find their relationship with God. It was from here that the Protestant Church was born, out of the need to create a new religion of freedom.

The Protestant Reformation was also influenced by the English King Henry who sought to marry a second wife, but this was not permitted by the ruing Catholic church which preached monogamy. To have his way, he made entire England a protestant nation and removed them from the rule of the Catholic Church.[2]This was perhaps the biggest achievement of the Protest Reformation as more and more people began being aware of the great power that the Catholic Church had and the need to be independent of it.

French Revolution

The French had for a long time been involved in many different conquests, something that the ruling monarchies had seen as important in securing French territories. They then used the proceeds of these activities, in addition to the many crippling taxes that they placed on their people, to live lavishly and obnoxiously. The French people grew tired of the many wars and the increase in levels of poverty at the expense of the monarchy. They decided that they needed to have a country that would be free from selfish rule and in which the needs of the people and all peasants would be catered for. The people formed themselves into groups, and they overtook the ruling King Louis, who was then executed and the country sought to get a new ruler. French people wanted better conditions of living and fair opportunities, and this was what inspired the revolution. They also wanted to restore France to its previous economic and political glory.[3]

The economic boom of the 17^th century

It was at this time that people had started taking business seriously, looking for ways in which they can expand. Trade was expanding, as countries saw to expand their wealth not only through the acquisition of new lands but also in exploiting the countries they conquered. It was an Age of Conquest, with each country trying its best to expand and display its power and authority over others. The Catholic church had in the past, laid out laws that restricting charging interests on loans and even lending money. With these restrictions out of the way, people began investing in different ventures that were dependent on trade. It was at this point that people started making investments and getting their profits back, increasing the disposable income that the society had. It also led to the rise of a group of merchants who were in charge of these trade routes and they also amassed a huge amount of wealth.[4]There was a  higher amount of money in circulation and this boosted the economic situation and led to the growth of many European countries. Countries saw the need to boost their produce and then sell them to other countries, favouring more exports than imports as the macroeconomic principle of mercantilism stipulates

Their interrelatedness

After looking at the three events, it is clear that they are all interrelated. They happened at a time when a new generation was coming up, and they did not share the old traditions. Instead, they sought to create a new society based on their need and what they saw as practical to them. With the French Revolution, it showed that power lies with the people and not with the few ruling class. This motivated Martin Luther to begin his attack on the Catholic church as they were not divine beings given divine powers but just people who take advantage of their position.[5] This subsequently inspired the Protestant Reformation in England as the King felt he was the ruler of his nation and should not seek approval from a church that is not even based in his country. As a result, nationalism grew, and countries saw the need to increase their wealth and these trading activities are what led to the economic boom of the 17^th century.

Conclusion

The Protestant Reformation, the French Revolution and the economic boom of the 17^th century are all interrelated. From my paper, I have looked at each of the events and the way they impacted each other because of the underlying influence they had. When one happened, they stirred something in the spirit of the other countries, and the latter also sought to find its independence. All of these events were started because people wanted to break from their traditions and start a new society that they found reasonable. It came from a need of wanting to understand what to do certain things instead of just blindly following. The economic boom especially embodies this, as countries engaged in trade to improve their economic situation and also establish their power and importance to other European countries.

 

 

 

References

Becker, Sascha O., Steven Pfaff, and Jared Rubin. “Causes and consequences of the Protestant Reformation.” Explorations in Economic History 62 (2016):1-25.

Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2019.

Doyle, William. The Oxford history of the French Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2018.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Tudor church militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation. Penguin UK, 2017

Trevor-Roper, Hugh R. “The general crisis of the 17^th century.” Past & Present 16 (1959), 31-64.

[1] Becker, Sascha O., Steven Pfaff, and Jared Rubin. “Causes and consequences of the Protestant Reformation.” Explorations in Economic History 62 (2016):1-25.

 

[2]Becker, Sascha O., Steven Pfaff, and Jared Rubin. “Causes and consequences of the Protestant Reformation.” Explorations in Economic History 62 (2016):1-25.

 

[3] Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2019.

 

[4] Trevor-Roper, Hugh R. “The general crisis of the 17^th century.” Past & Present 16 (1959), 31-64.

 

[5] MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Tudor church militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation. Penguin UK, 2017